Entrepreneurship, complexity and the emergent order in the techno-economic scenario of the twenty-first century. Evidence from a field study in Tuscany

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses entrepreneurship adopting the concept of ‘emergence’, defined in the literature on entrepreneurship and complexity, as the creation of a new order, arising from the interactions between its elements. We hypothesise that the recent evolution of (and interaction between) i) entrepreneurial figures and their functions, (ii) firms’ structures and strategies and (iii) external environment has defined a set of properties, characteristic of a new emergent entrepreneurial order. A case study conducted on 24 entrepreneurs based on a traditional manufacturing region is used to support the theoretical building process and demonstrate the phenomenon beyond the Silicon Valley storytelling. The results categorise the entrepreneurial properties around three spheres (Cognition, Coordination, Cooperation) and explain (in the discussion part) their dynamic generative process, underlining the necessity to embrace a holistic unit of analysis, to fully understand the entrepreneurial emergent order. Finally, some implications for managerial models and policy strategies are proposed.

KEYWORDS:

• Entrepreneurship
• innovation
• complex systems
• emergence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ For a similar CAS analysis approach focusing on a single element, see Lichtenstein and Plowman (2009).

² The Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is an example of a layered modular architecture, allowing, not only for a diverse organisation of production processes and for the competences necessary to the ‘field’, but also for new analytical and decision-making apparatuses, which managers can access remotely.

³ Public-private organisations, specialised in the traditional sectors of Made in Italy typical of Industrial Districts and peculiarities of Tuscany (for example fashion, marble, life science, cultural goods) born to provide support and services to SMEs of Tuscany – website available in Italian here.

⁴ General Confederation of Italian Industry – Association of Tuscany Region, website available in Italian here.

⁵ The average age of the surveyed sample is 58 years old and consists of 83% men and 17% women.